Collapsible drinking-cup.



W. F. SMYT'HE'.

COLLAPSlBLE DRINKING CUP.

APPLICATION man DEC.2, ms.

zeym, PatentedJune 5, 1917.

Eat-.1- TEE-.12..

WILLIAM E. SMYTHE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

COLLAPSIBLE DRINKING-CUP.

Specification of Letters IPatent.

Patented June 5, 191?.

Application filed December 2, 1915. Serial No. 64,732.

To all/whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM F. SMYTHE, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Collapsible Drinking-Cups; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in collapsible drinking cups, and the primary object of the invention is to provide a new and improved drinking cup of this character which has means to normally look the same in collapsed position and is further provided with a helical spring that surrounds the cup and is adapted to distend the sections, automatically when the cup is released from locked position, so that it will be immediately ready for use, and will be firmly and securely held in open position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device which is simple and durable in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and one that will be very eflicient in operation.

lVith these and numerous other objects in view, my invention consists of the novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts, which will be herein referred to and more particularly pointed out 1 in the specification and claim.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved cup in open position;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same in closed position;

Fig. 3 is a top plan View;

Fig. 1 is a central vertical transverse section;

Fig. 5 is a detail transverse section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective of the locking means employed to hold this cup in closed position.

In describing my invention, I shall refer to the drawings in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views and in which the letter C represents my collapsible drinking cup as an entirety, said cup comprising a base 1 upon which are mounted a plurality of telescoping tapered annular sections 2 which are constructed of thin sheet metal and are adapted to operate in a manner well known to those familiar with devices of this character. The base 1 of this cup 1s formed in the shape of an annular ring having an upward extension 3 thereon with a radially projectin flange 4 formed on its upper edge. This fi ange 4B is adapted to be positioned in an annular groove5, which is formed adjacent the bottom of the lower section of the cup so that when these parts are positioned as above described, the base will be firmly and securely held in engagement with the lowermost section of the cup and will form a support for the same. The upper section of the cup is furthermore pro vided with a disk-shaped cover 6 having a downturned annular flange 7 adapted to engage the top section of the cup. This cover, however, is not necessary and may be done away with if desired.

The collapsible sections of this cup are surrounded or encircled with a helical spring 8, which has its free ends secured thereto. The lower end or coil 9 of the spring surrounds the extension 3 of the base and has its extremity bent inwardly and downwardly as shown at 1-0 and is adapted to be positioned through an aperture in the said extension as clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The upper end or coil 11 of the spring is adapted to abut the lower surface of an outwardly projecting flange on the upper edge of the uppermost section and has a laterally projecting extremity 12 which is adapted to project through and to be securely engaged in an aperture 13 at a point adjacent the flange on the upper edge of said section of the cup. By these means, the free ends of the spring are permanently and positively secured to the aforesaid parts of the cup and owing to the fact that the body portion of the spring surrounds the sections of the cup, this spring will always exert a constant upward pressure, which will distend the sections of the cup, and hold the same in open position, as long as the spring is allowed to operate.

This cup is held in collapsed position against the force of the helical spring 8 by means of a spring clamp 14. The spring clamp 14 is formed from a single strand of wire and comprises a body formed by bending the strand at or near its middle and folding the bent portions one upon the other and then bending the'end portions of the body downwardly and the extremities of the same inwardly in the plane of the body, whereby each arm member is adapted to engage the base portion 1 of the cup and the body portion proper extends across the upper section of said cup. By this means, it will be obvious that when the spring clamp is positioned as above described, the collapsed sections of the cup will be securely held in said relation and against the force of the'helical spring until the clamp is removed therefrom.

The operation and use of this device is comparatively simple, and the cup when collapsed and held in said position by the spring clamp may be easily carried in a very small space; The helical spring that surrounds the sections of the cup always insures the same immediate and automatic opening upon removal of the spring clamp therefrom and furthermore, the force of the spring will hold the said cup in open position and prevent the same from collapsing when being used. As collapsible cups of this character are always formed from some very thin material, and are liable to become bent by constant use, the helical spring employed in this invention will furthermore provide a protective covering for the said sections, and will greatly lengthen the time ofactual service of the cup. The cover 6 which I have shown as provided for this cup is not in any way essential thereto and if desired may be entirely done away with as the spring clamp 14: will lock the cup in collapsed position, either with or without the cover thereon.

from the foregoing description of the construction of my improved device, the manner of applying the same to use and the operation thereof will be readily understood and it will be seen that I have provided a simple, inexpensive and efficient means for carrying out the objects of the invention.

I claim:

A drinking cup comprising a plurality of tapered telescoping annular sections the uppermost of which is formed with an outstanding bead, a circular base for the lowermost section, said base projecting beyond this section, and a coiled spring surrounding the several sections and bearing at its upper end against said bead, the lower end of said spring bearing against the base, said spring serving to hold the cup in distended position and the convolutions of said spring being spaced from the aforesaid sections to serve as a yielding guard to prevent injury thereof. I

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM F. SMYTHE.

Witnesses:

WVILLIAM A. BLEMLY, I FREDA LAsK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

